The world’s largest networking community and education provider for the business events industry – Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) – has recently announced the Class of 2024 for their annual 20 In Their Twenties program.
Members of PCMA’s 20 in Their Twenties are proven leaders and innovators within the business events industry.
The 20 In Their Twenties program invites young meeting professionals to demonstrate their leadership in various areas such as creative thinking and problem solving, challenging the status quo and leading a team or project to achieve a common goal.
Encore nominated eight outstanding individuals from the team and are proud to reveal that Sarah Banks, Regional Director of Event Technology at four hotels in Melbourne, has been named to PCMA’s prestigious honour roll for the Class of 2024.
Sarah, along with 19 other emerging leaders from around the world will be introduced at Convening Leaders 2024 (CL24) January 7-10 in San Diego, California.
“I’m deeply humbled by this recognition. This would not be possible and I would not be where I am today without the mentoring and support and opportunities I’ve been given by Encore’s management and leadership team.” – said Sarah Banks.
“This recognition is a testament to her outstanding dedication, leadership, and innovative contributions to the event industry. Sarah’s achievement not only reflects her individual excellence but also resonates with the core values at Encore” said, Scott Nodsle, Managing Director, Encore APAC.
“At Encore, we are driven by the belief that every event is an opportunity to make a lasting impact. Sarah’s commitment to be a dynamic problem solver for customers and pushing the boundaries of what is possible aligns seamlessly with our rallying cry: “One Customer, One Event, One Venue at a Time.”
Congratulations on your achievement, Sarah!” – added Mr Nodsle.
Encore maintains Great Place To Work® (GPTW) accreditation in Australia and New Zealand, plus outstanding year-on-year improvement in key focus areas.
At Encore, we aim to create a healthy and positive work environment where team members think and feel good about their job and workplace. We are actively taking measures to ensure all team members feel valued, heard and empowered to make a direct contribution to shaping workplace initiatives and policies in all areas of the business.
The Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification recognises our ongoing commitment and efforts towards achieving that goal.
Encore takes pride in being recognised as a GPTW in 2022 and regaining certification again in 2023. This is no mean feat and is a testament to our long-standing focus on our employee development, effective systems and processes and creating a healthy, positive workplace.
Encore APAC, Managing Director Scott Nodsle was delighted with the expanded accreditation and impressive results overall.
“Thanks to our team members, Encore is proud to have been certified as a Great Place To Work in Australia again this year and expanding to New Zealand. It’s also very encouraging that in each category, our results have improved year-on-year.”
Encore is currently certified in 7 countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, UAE and the US.
HR Director, Jennifer Purcell announced the results from the 2023 GPTW Survey with the headline finding of 72% of employees saying Encore is a great place to work, up 66 points from last year, plus significant improvements across key areas.
The standout result in the 2023 survey was the feedback from the New Zealand team, reporting an impressive uplift of 17 points from last year, with a 83% rating given for the Great Place to Work Statement. The average for APAC is 81% – an increase of 13 points.
“It’s really encouraging to see the amazing progress we’ve made since last year, with a 6% overall increase in the Great Place to Work Statement.”
“Any result above 5% increase can be considered as quite significant and should be celebrated as a major win… In that context, the results from the NZ team is just absolutely phenomenal” says Jennifer Purcell.
Encore has announced that Scott Nodsle, Managing Director APAC, has been appointed as Executive Sponsor of the ‘WellBeing at Encore’ Business Resource Group (BRG). Nodsle has been with Encore for 23 years and has held various leadership roles during that time, which is a testament to his commitment to Encore and team members.
Nodsle commented on the appointment,
“When I was presented with the opportunity to sponsor the WellBeing BRG, I jumped at the chance. Having started my Encore career as a Technician, and then serving in other field-based leadership roles in the U.S., EMEA, and now APAC, I am well aware of the pressure our team members are under. It’s incredibly important to keep your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, and that of your teams, top of mind at all times. I’m looking forward to helping team members do exactly that through this BRG.”
WellBeing BRG Purpose
The WellBeing BRG exists to support the mental, physical and social wellbeing of Encore team members and the larger communities they impact. The group will accomplish this by working to overcome stigmas, providing resources, and raising awareness of these important topics.
Recent initiatives
The WellBeing BRG is new in APAC and has already seen significant impact and involvement. Recently the group delivered a ‘Wellbeing lunch and learn workshop’ which highlighted the power of connection and community and how feeling safe, respected and understood which can play a massive part in how we participate in our work.
Whilst the team in South Australia attended WellFest, a well-being breakfast designed to help guests take time out to hear experts identify and explain the way they manage their Mental Health and how to be “nicer to yourself and others”.
Encore has been focused on reducing our impact on the environment for may years and our endeavours have seen us awarded an EcoVadis accreditation.
In continuing these commitments, we are delighted to announce the launch of our new electronic vehicle in Auckland and are soon to be taking delivering of our first hybrid truck in Melbourne.
“We have been moving to more energy efficient vehicles for many years.”, commented Nathan Mckenzie, Operations Director APAC who is responsible for many of Encore APAC’s sustainable practices and projects.
“In line with the Government’s commitment to deliver a low emissions vehicle target Encore has begun is transitioning its current fleet of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric and hybrid technology.”
“Delivery of the new fleet is planned to continue, and as older vehicles reach the end of lease they will be replaced and we plan the new hybrid and electrical fleet will be fully implemented by 2026.”
Scott Nodsle, Managing Director of Encore APAC noted,
“The new fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles are an exciting and important development in Encore’s strategies to be more sustainable and is part of our focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance practices”.
Encore assessed several factors, including battery consumption, charging capability, vehicle handling, maneuverability and performance in a variety of traffic conditions, driver and passenger comfort, carrying capacity when selecting vehicles which make the least impact and also suit our teams’ needs and equipment moving requirements.
While the introduction of electric vehicles into the Encore fleet will initially cost more than that of equivalent internal combustion engine vehicles, savings in on running costs, including fuel and maintenance in addition to the many benefits to reducing our total emissions are expected.

